Genres: Structure & Workflow

The Structure of a Pop Song 8 bars16 bars 8 bars alternating drum fills Repeat V & CChorus Repeats

Hip-Hop Time Signature 4/4 four beats to a bar Tempo: 60 – 120 BPM Structure similar to a pop song

Eminen – I’m Shady Intro (2 bars) Verse (16 bars) – piano melody after 8 Chorus (8 bars) Repeat Verse & Chorus twice (48 bars) Outro (8 bars) Bass & Drums same throughout V & C Piano Line & Vocals provide change

Other Examples (Hip-Hop) Massive Attack - Five Man Army Intro, Verse, Verse, Verse, Verse, Outro DMX - Slippin’ Intro, Chorus, Verse, C, V, Outro Dead Prez - Don’t Forget Where You’re Coming From Intro (Chorus fade in), Chorus, Verse, Chorus

Comparison of Examples Slippin’ & Don’t Forget - drums and bass the same throughout I’m Shady & Don’t Forget - vocal replaces rap in chorus Slippin’: spoken part & vocal in chorus vocal melody is an emphasis of the oboe line that backs the verse

Comparison of Examples I’m Shady - words in Chorus, structure of the words varies over 8 bars Don’t Forget - has 2 bar loop repeated 4 times with change in vocals for the last repeat (8 bar section)

Common Workflow Hip-Hop Create drum track from a loop Add bass (often at or around kick drum), not much bass (if any) around snare If bass sticks out too much low pass filter it Add accents (e.g. cymbal crashes, scratches, samples) Add drop outs Add vocal & think about structure

House Time Signature 4/4 four beats to a bar Tempo: 120 – 135 BPM

The Structure of Modern House 8 bar loop (drum fills at end of 4-8 bars) Bars Intro - Minimal Instrumentation Bars Additional Layer of Instrumentation Bars rep. last 8 bars (diff drum fills) Bars rep Bars start building tension Bars 57-64: drop out kick drum, & use more complex rhythm add diff. noises/instruments/drs in 2 bar sections until last 2 bars that forms a peak (snare rush) Bars : drop hook & bring back in kick drum Let track run (add drum fills & effects) Bars : sparser instrumentation or repeat and build up again (build up/exciting bit often more intense than the last one)

Mr Fingers - Can You Feel It? intro - vocal kick drum, bass, vocal (8 bars) kick, bass, + ride cymbal + synth chords (4 bars) kick, bass, ride, synth chords + clap (4 bars) kick, bass, ride, synth chords + snare (4 bars) (synth changes pattern on last bar: doesn’t go down in pitch) kick, bass, ride, synth chords, snare + hi-hats + synth melody (4 bars) kick, bass, synth chords, clap, hi-hats, - synth melody -ride (4 bars) ( - ride gives a feeling of clarity) kick, bass, synth chords, snare, hi-hats + synth melody (4 bars) kick, bass, synth chords, snare, hi-hats, - synth melody + ride (4 bars) (bass dr pattern change last two bars) kick, bass, synth chords, snare, hi-hats, ride + synth melody (4 bars) kick, bass, snare, synth chords, preacher vocal (8 bars) kick, bass, snare, synth chords, preacher vocal, +hi-hats (4 bars) kick, bass, snare, synth chords, preach. vocal, hi-hats, rim shot, new synth melody (4 bars) and so on…

Stardust – Music Sounds Better With You loop – high pass filtered (8 bars) loop (3 bars) loop raised in pitch a bit (1 bar) (16 bars) slightly diff. loop (1 bar) s.d.loop raised in pitch a bit less (1 bar), vocal (8 bars) loop (3 bars) loop raised in pitch a bit (1 bar), vocal (16 bars) s.d.loop (1 bar) s.d.loop raised in pitch a bit less (1 bar), vocal (8 bars) Kick (2 bars) loop (3 bars) loop raised in pitch a bit (1 bar), vocal, extra loop bit (8 bars) s.d.loop (1 bar) s.d.loop raised in pitch a bit less (1 bar), vocal, extra loop bit (8 bars) Filtered everything but vocal loop (3 bars) loop raised in pitch a bit (1 bar), vocal (16 bars) Kick (2 bars) s.d.loop (1 bar) s.d.loop raised in pitch a bit less (1 bar), vocal (8 bars) loop (3 bars) loop raised in pitch a bit (1 bar), vocal, extra loop bit (8 bars) etc..

Drum & Bass Time Signature 4/4 four beats to a bar Tempo: 160 – 190 BPM

Drum & Bass Structure 8 bar loop (drum fills every 4 bars) Intro (16 bars) Synth. Chords & Samples & lighter break Build up Drop break & bass line Vary drums (&/or fills), add synths, reintroduce parts of intro. Cut out drums (breakdown), bring them back in after build up Add effects

Drum & Bass: Workflow Create basic drum track to produce standard breakbeat using a drum machine: set dr. machine to provide 16 steps (16 ths ) in each bar place a kick drum on 1 st & 11 th 16 ths place a snare on the 5 th & 13 th add percussion (hi-hats/rides) add a different drum fill every 4 bars and vary like in the pop song example

Drum Patterns The drum pattern in the last slide is also a basic drum pattern used very commonly in: hip-hop (but at a slower tempo) dub-step (at BPM, with a double speed bass line) Or copy the amen drum break: R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R- ----S--S-S--S--S K-K KK----

Drum & Bass: Workflow (cont.) add bass at or around kick drum create a four bar bass line that repeats; if the bass sticks out too much low pass filter it not much bass around the snare work on synth lines/add samples etc. until hook done work on intro and build up/breakdown bits often the track is inspired by samples or synth lines and the break and bass are constructed to drive these home

Marky & Xrs - LK break, guitar loop (4 bars long), synth note (8 bars) break, guitar loop, synth note, synth chords; bar 7&8 voice samps (8 bars) break, guitar loop, synth note, synth chords, +break2, synth melody (8 bars) break, guitar loop, synth note, synth chords, +break2, synth melody increasing cut off freq; bar 7&8 voice samps (8 bars) guitar loop, synth note, synth chords, synth melody, swishing noise (8 bars) guitar loop, synth note, synth chords, synth melody, swishing noise; bar 7&8 voice samples (8 bars) crash, vocal loop (2 bars long), synth chords that give a similar feel to the guitar loop (cut off raised throughout) (16 bars) crash, guitar loop2, vocal loop, synth chords that give a similar feel to the guitar loop (cut off raised throughout); bar 15&16: another vocal loop, kick from the impending break, then snare (16 bars)

Marky & Xrs – LK (Cont.) crash, break, break2, bass line, guitar loop2, synth chords (16 bars) crash, break, break2, bass line, guitar loop2, synth chords (cuts these out a bit in time with the beat towards end of this section) (16 bars) crash, break, break2, bass line, guitar loop2, synth chords, + synth melody (from before); bar 15&16 voice samples (16 bars) crash, break, break2, bass line, - guitar loop2, guitar loop 3, synth chords, + synth melody (from before); bar 15&16 voice samples (16 bars) etc: breakdown, build up (includes another synth line brought in), build up more intense using kick drums, break kicks in, break cut out again, break brought in again, vocal loop brought in

N.B.C.– Rock the Funky Beat synth (2 bars long) (8 bars) synth, bleep (8 bars) synth, bleep, weird noise; bar 8 cymbal roll from break brought in (8 bars) break, synth, bleep, weird noise; bar 4 break cut out, break kick echoed; bar 8 break cut out (8 bars) vocal samples, break, synth, bleep, weird noise; bar 8 break cut out (8 bars) vocal samples left to echo out (8 bars) vocal samples2 (rearranged) (8 bars) break2, bass line, vocal samples2; bar 4 - fill1; bar 8 - fill2 (8 bars)

N.B.C.– R.F.B. (Cont.) break2, bass line, vocal samples3 (rearranged again); bar 4 - fill2; bar 8 - fill3 (more intense) (8 bars) break2 rearranged, - bass line, vocal samples4 rearranged; bars 2-6 vocal samples “check” each beat; bar 7&8 “check this this this this this out - ” (8 bars) break2 with hi hats, bass line; bar 4 - fill 4; bar 8 - fill5 (made with break3) (8 bars) + new break3, break2 with hi hats, bass line (8 bars) break3, break2 with hi hats, bass line; bar (8 bars) etc: vocal samples and drum fills in 8 bar loops, public enemy sample re- introduced, breakdown, build up with added synth line (the usual basically)

Dub Step Time Signature 4/4 four beats to a bar Tempo: 138 – 142 BPM With a half time beat (one snare per bar) Often there’s a bass-line double the speed of the beat

Coki - Goblin Track built completely on the bass line Percussion loops running underneath Other samples used to provide intro and breakdown midway through (during which the bass line is absent) Percussion loops are 8 bars long (normally 1-2 bars in D&B, House & Hip-Hop) Bass line varied occasionally by adding extra parts

Rusko – Hammertime! Built around bass line Attention paid to production clarity Percussion loops 2 bars Samples added to beat & to replace drums or bass in places (e.g. end of every 8 bars) Bass line varied each 8 bars to provide narrative

Joker – Stuck in the System Built around a ‘sample’ that includes strings & a brass section Intro: strings, thunder sample, beat ‘Sample’ brought in - then SNARE Bass line, hi-hats added to beat, snare varied (reverb added/snare gated), strings to build to… Repeat last two steps (sound of bass line varied)